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Related Articles Cameron Leslie Six decades of the Paralympics Beijing ready for Games part II

Sep 14, 2008
By Cameron Leslie in Beijing

Cameron Leslie is 18 years old and competing at his first Paralympic Games as a swimmer. Follow his progress through his regular blog for tvnz.co.nz

September 14: The main event

Today is the day of my main event here in China, the 150m Individual Medley.  I raced the heat for it this morning early on in the race programme and have ended up being number one ranked qualifier coming into the final. 

This doesn't really mean a hell of a lot really because I know these guys I'm racing, they've been around a long time and know not to show everything in the morning.  However, I have also been around a fair while (not really but long enough anyway) and know not to show all of what I'm made of in the morning. 

Even though I managed an 11 second personal best I cannot say I gave it everything I had. For at least 75m I eased off a lot and spent it just cruising in energy saving mode.  To come through with an 11 second PB and know that I still had more to give is incredible. My heat time is what I was planning on getting in the final, but to do that as a heat time is amazing and leaves me wondering 'what am I really capable of in this final?' 

I'm not expecting to medal but I am hoping I can repeat the performance and do another PB tonight. So long as I can come away with that and knowing that I swam the fastest I have ever swum in my life then I will be pleased with my efforts and if it brings a medal it brings a medal.  So basically tonight I'm racing my time and will give it all in my efforts, I've even asked if our team doctor can be pool side with me so I know that if I'm absolutely buggered someone will be there to look after me who knows what they're doing (and I can understand them).

I'm off now to continue to rest up and get a quick loosen massage before I head to the pool later on.

Wish me luck!

Cameron


September 12:First taste of finals

Hey,

So competition has started and I have had my first taste of finals swimming, and man was it an experience!  My 200m freestyle went to a straight final but for some reason someone else was added into the race last minute which was real annoying because he finished in front of me. 

Had he not of raced I would have came in 5th which was what I was aiming for but I can't really complain after coming out of the race with a 10.8 second personal best!!! 

My coach and I had set our target of swimming under 3 minutes for the race, our actual goal time was 2minutes 59seconds, so to finish the race with a time faster than that was so good.  Looking up at the board after finishing and seeing my time was so rewarding. 

I didn't care that I hadn't made the top five like I had hoped, I had just smashed my personal best by nearly 11seconds!  It made all the hard work in West Auckland all worth it and the best is yet to come!

The 50m butterfly however didn't go completely to plan. The morning swim did but the finals at night I was hoping to go a little faster and maybe break the top five this time around but it wasn't to be.  It might sound weird but not beating my personal best is actually a good sign. 

Because I have been focusing on the 150m Individual Medley and training towards doing well in that race, by not doing a PB in the shorter races means my body is more accustomed to the more endurance type races. 

And it is an even better sign that I did a massive PB in the 200m free.  Hopefully my form can continue and I can do just as well if not better in the 150 IM.

Training yesterday was basically just recovery from the first two races but training today had some time trialing in it and man was I on fire!  I was poppin out times left right and centre that were getting faster and faster. 

It really was a good session and to think before I got in the water I wasn't really feeling that flash.  So with all going well, bring on the medley!

My parents are over in Beijing and yesterday was their chance to come into the village and experience some of what we experience everyday here in our quiet palace. 

Once I managed to find where they actually were, coming into the village they got to see the majority of the village and experience the interesting smells which seem to float around near drainage systems...

I have got to quickly shoot off now because I have already missed two buses today and we are off to the Water Cube to have another light recovery session.

C U
Cameron

September 8: Frog kids and Cube madness!

Being at my first Paralympic Games and witnessing my first big opening ceremony has been amazing.  The opening ceremony was incredible.  Such a huge stadium filled to capacity was a buzz in itself but to somehow be in the first row of New Zealander's entering the stadium added to the buzz. 

The ceremony was filled with all sorts of performances and what made them even more special is that quite a few of them were performed by people with disabilities. 

Having a group of 300 performers move in time with each other is cool to watch but to find out that they all have some form of hearing impairment was amazing!  Those guys were all moving in time without having the ability to hear the beat of the music. 

But I must say my highlight, as was many of the teams, was the little frog kids that performed.  Not sure if it was on the TVNZ's highlights package but they were definitely the highlight for me.  All their enthusiasm and moving in time made them look like hundreds of Jet-Li's jumping and yelling at you. 

With the opening ceremony out of the way now it is time to refocus towards my first race in a day's time, the 200m freestyle.  I have been really looking forward to this race for some time now, not because it's a race I target but because it's a race I enjoy. 

I'm really curious to see what my time is like now that I'm in the best shape of my life.  Fortunately for me though there is only 7 of my classification racing it which should mean it will go straight to a final and we will only race in the evening.  Hopefully this is the case so I can go absolutely nuts and not have to worry about turning around to repeat the performance at night. 

Yesterday we went training during the warm up time at the Water Cube and finished in time to see some finals racing and victory ceremonies.  This was a real eye-opener which showed just how intense and exciting these games are going to be.  If you think only Michael Phelps and the likes can fill a stadium like the Water Cube you're wrong. 

Last night the cube was absolutely packed with no seats left and man was there some noise coming from the crowd.  It was awesome to see a venue filled to capacity to support disabled athletes.  I don't think I have ever competed in front of a crowd that huge and I can't wait until it's my turn to hop behind the blocks and swim my race in front of that many people. 

Looking ahead to tomorrow's race I'm feeling pretty good.  Well rested and times in training are looking on target.  Only thing is I have a few niggling sore muscles which I will have addressed today by our marvellous massage and physio team.  Good thing is that it's nothing serious though just muscle tightness and stiffness.  So that is where I'm off to now. 

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

Cameron

September 5: Faster than ever before  

Gidday Gidday,

I've been feeling so good since last night's training that I felt the urge to write another blog, gosh I'm good ay!  So went training last night and decided to test out a pair of my arena powerskin shorts doing some sprints.  My times were over 2seconds faster than what I was doing in Hong Kong! 

I was buzzin' after that and that form has carried onto this morning's training where I did three consecutive personal bests for 50m breaststroke.  After those two trainings I have been left feeling pretty confident that I can do some fairly competitive times.

Training at the cube last night was a later training starting at 6.30pm and they were putting on a show as they had police presence everywhere and the cube had colours all over it changing every second.  It was quite a sight to see how amazing it really is instead of seeing just TV coverage. 

However the one thing that I have noticed with the cube is the bubbles on the inside seem to make me feel sick when swimming backstroke for some reason.  Don't know why that is so have been trying to do as much backstroke as I can to get used to it and subside that feeling.  Other than that though, feel really good and can't wait for it all to start.

Friday night we have a welcoming dinner with the New Zealand Embassy who has invited the New Zealand Team and our supporters/parents.  The majority of the team's parents that I know are coming arrived safely yesterday and are apparently finding it very hot here.  The heat in Beijing is nothing compared to Hong Kong! 

Well I'm off to explore some more of the village.

C U
Cameron

September 4: Studying the competition

Hello New Zealand,

More time in the village and more training under my belt and not much has changed yet.  Still on target for some good times and we will see how close a medal is after these good times.  Still adjusting to the size of the Water Cube and just how big the venues are in general.  The Chinese sure know how to build things big!

Yesterday we had the last of the team arrive and all that is left to come is my Whangarei/Northland buddy Fiona Southern on Friday.  The atmosphere in the village has definitely changed since the arrival of more athletes.  It now has a feel of anticipation and excitement which makes the games seem more real.  New Zealand's block certainly now has a buzzing feel to it with people walking around with all sorts of limps and people wheeling in all directions. 

The food hall has become a place of study& studying other people and the way they walk (yes I am very interested in how other double above-knee amputees walk and/or whether they have an obvious limp).  Also it has become a place of studying your competition and what they are eating, are they over indulging or are they risking picking up Beijing belly by eating the Chinese Peking duck?  Lets hope a few of my competitors try the duck ay. 

The village is great though, everything is free pretty much, right from having your teeth looked at and sight test to having a haircut (something that is continually being recommended to me by other team members for some reason?...

It's not my fault my hair has turned into a frizz ball because of the humidity!)  The one thing the village doesn't have though is my girlfriend& Yes I'm sorry all the single ladies in New Zealand I am taken haha I know I know, gutted like a fish.

We had TVNZ come round the village today and do some filming of us around the village and in our rooms.  There is a flag raising ceremony this evening but sadly I have chosen to go to the scheduled training instead.  I thought I'd miss training when the opening ceremony is on so hopefully that will make up for it and be an experience and a half.

Anyway I had best be off to training.

C U
Cameron


September 2: Getting to grips with Beijing

Hello New Zealand.

So I have been in the Paralympic Village for three days now and we have had three days of brilliant sunshine.  Such a nice temperature, not extremely hot just nice (well compared to Hong Kong anyway). 

The village so far has been a real eye opener in terms of 'this is how the big boys do it', with the 24 hour a day food hall which has every temptation you could imagine.  Ice creams, coca-cola, chocolate bars, everything you could ever want outside of competition as a treat is here teasing you and testing your self-control.  So far I have managed to not give in after having overindulged in Hong Kong maybe a tiny bit too much (but man were the waffles good!). 

I'm staying on the third floor of our apartment complex which was previously occupied by our very own New Zealand Olympic team.  It's quite cool that we are sharing the exact same facilities as the able-bodied Olympic team and sleeping on the same hard mattresses that they did.  Not sure who sorted that out I think maybe it was the Paralympic New Zealand chef-de-mission Duane Kale who may have communicated with officials or something along those lines. Very cool anyway and cheers to whoever sorted that out.

I have been training twice a day in the Water Cube while we have been here and starting to feel the effects of it too.  Because of my disability I get very little in terms of a kick while swimming, so basically I rely on my arms to propel me through the water which pretty much means my arms get nailed.  The Water Cube is amazing though, I don't think I have ever seen a pool with such a huge seating area for the crowd! It's huge. Hopefully the Chinese can fill it out because swimming in front of a crowd that big will be a huge buzz.

The hardest thing at the Village though is definitely having all the distraction around you and trying to find time to rest and recover in between trainings. I am yet to find a routine of sleeping during the day, but having said that, we haven't had ideal training times with a short turn around between sessions yesterday. Today we have a bit more time. 

So right about now I am going to go send a few emails and lie down for an hour or to rest up for this afternoons' session - go me!

C U
Cameron


August 31: Very touching story

Howdy,

Well yesterday was a very interesting and different day.  The lactate set in the morning went well and I managed to squeeze 2 personal bests out which is really good seeing as I'm not fully tapered yet.  We decided we would get up and go training earlier than we have been so that we miss the majority of the heat in the morning and arrive just before sun-up.  Good decision coach!

Basically the day consisted of hard morning training, massive breakfast and then sleep up until 3.30pm when we were off to the pool again for a recovery session.  While we were at the afternoon session one of the workers at the Hong Kong University (where we have been training), was talking to our coaches and were told that a survivor from the Myanmar earthquake 3 months ago was visiting the University.  Poor girl had lost both legs from the knee down and was having a very hard time dealing with it.  Suppose it wouldn't help that the doctors haven't finished amputating and she's not at the point yet where she can finally come to terms with what she's lost etc. 

Her name was Yang Lin and she came with a big support crew with her and had been travelling around meeting all the Chinese Olympic team and the next day was off to Disney Land.  We were asked to offer her some words of encouragement to let her know that just because you have a disability doesn't mean you can't live an active and full life. 

Because I also am missing my legs from the knee down she apparently took a liking to me and was very interested in how I managed things.  My coach Simon Mayne was very keen on me hopping in the water and doing a bit of swimming for her to show what she is capable of when she accepts her losses. 

Yang had an awesome heroic story though; during the earthquake she was rushing out of a school when she heard her friend calling for help.  She turned back to help her but she was past the point of receiving help, Yang then came to leave and was sadly trapped under rubble for 60 hours. That to me has got to be one of the most remarkable amputee stories I have heard.  I wish I had a heroic story rather than telling people "I was born like this just like you were born the way you are". 

Today we were back at the pool early sprinting and in form.  However we all are still having trouble adjusting to the intense heat in the afternoons and just as I am writing this blog Simon has called to say that we are leaving Hong Kong tomorrow morning and heading to the Paralympic village early.  Can't wait!  Bring on the Watercube! 

So that is all good news and this afternoon we are going to a market on another island around Hong Kong somewhere (sorry I'm not very good with remembering Chinese place names). 

That should be good and fun bartering with the store owners.  One of the track athletes in Hong Kong with us, Terry, he bartered a HK$680 dressing gown down to HK$100!!!  Tight ass I know haha jokes.

Suppose I should be off and pack,

CU
Cameron


August 29: World's best breakfasts  

Gidday,
Cameron here again.

I've been in Hong Kong for 2 days now and am slowly adjusting to everything.  The temperatures here are between 27 degrees and 30!  A hell of a lot hotter than what it was back in Auckland but at certain times of the day it is quite nice. 

I am back into hard training having just recovered from the flight and have a horrible lactate set to look forward to in the morning (or not!).  We are training in an outdoor 50m pool which isn't heated so it heats to whatever the temperature of the air is around it. 

Basically we are training in a pool that is about 30 degrees. Not very nice to be honest.  Imagine jumping into a pool that is the temperature of warm urine and that is what it feels like to be swimming in this pool, yummy ay!. 

With constant sunshine beating down on us it we seem to be hopping out earlier than we would in New Zealand but I suppose this all comes with the conditions and we will eventually adjust to the heat.

The hotel has the best breakfast you have ever tasted!  This hotel has Cameron Leslie's recommendations if you are ever going to Hong Kong, go the Meridien!  The breakfasts have everything you could ever want and especially being a swimmer we tend to eat a lot. 

Our hotel is in a place called the Cyberport which is right on the seaside and is apparently shaped like a front of a ship so I'm told.  Very nice, very nice.

Starting to get a bit of a tan here also but what comes with the tan is the dehydration. I seem to be keeping on top of it at the moment - it's so hot here that dehydration is quite likely if you don't keep a close eye on your water intake. 

Talking about dehydration I feel absolutely whacked right now so I shall be off to bed now and you will hear from me in a few days again with another update on my pre-Beijing build up campaign.
C U
Cameron

August 26: An introduction

My name is Cameron Leslie, I am 18 years old and I'm competing at my first Paralympic Games.

I was born with a congenital limb deficiency that caused all four of my limbs to not properly form, both legs from on the knee and my arms, one from midway down the forearm and the other I am missing four fingers but was lucky enough to be given a thumb.

I have been swimming now for eight years and right from the start dreamed of one day competing at the Paralympic Games. This year finally my dream comes true! To compete at the games means a lot to me and I am extremely proud to be competing for New Zealand at the highest level. I am also aware of the journey that I have travelled to get here and I'm extremely thankful for all the support I have received throughout my journey.

Fast-forwarding to now I am studying a Bachelor of Communication Studies at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) hoping to graduate with a major in print journalism. It is 12.30am and I have just finished writing an essay that is due today (August 26). So I guess now my tutors know how I juggle my time between swimming and study, pull an all-nighter the night before the essay is due. But of course I have pretty good reasons for why it is being done at the moment.

The build up for the Paralympics hasn't been very easy physically or socially.

On my last weekend in New Zealand before I head off I had been planning for weeks to drive to Hamilton and catch up with friends from Whangarei (my hometown) before I left. But no, no, no I suddenly remember that my coach and I had entered into a local swimming competition for some race training to see how fast I could go in a short course pool (25m pool) before we leave for the real swimming competition.

Going by my results on the weekend I suppose it would be fair to say that I was on top of my game. Usually I am useless in a short course pool because my disability doesn't give me any advantage from the tumble-turn (which able-bodied swimmers do get an advantage from), but anyway I swam the fastest I have ever swum in a short course pool which is encouraging.

So that's a little about me and I'm sure you will hear more from me in the weeks to come while I am away trying to do my country proud and will hopefully return with some credible results.

Cheers
Cameron